Sip caffè, eat, sightsee, another caffè, eat some more...

29.01.08

Mama mia! How time has flown since I last wrote. I have thought about writing in here, certo, but it was easier to put it off.

The students arrived in one piece—no one was lost along the way. Kat, myself and the Centro Studi crew got them all settled in their apartments. Lynn, the Assistant Dean for the College of Architecture as well as Raymond, the other professor for the tour, came over with the students and all were quite jet lagged. (It was a grey day when everyone arrived. In past years, it has been raining or snowing here. We also heard it was 1 degree in Kansas, so we all considered ourselves lucky).

For dinner, everyone met at VinCaffe, an enoteca owned by the husband of Marina, a coordinator at Centro Studi. We were met with quite a spread of prosciutto (ham), mozzarella fresca e altro formaggio (fresh mozzarella and other types of cheese), pomodori con olivo di olive (tomatoes with olive oil), lenticchie (lentils), garbanzo beans (can’t find the word in Italian!) con olio di olive e sardine (with olive oil and sardines), insalata con ricotta (salad with ricotta cheese), bruscetta (toasted bread with olive oil), and vino rosso e bianco (red and white wine). For dessert, we were treated to tozzetti (a somewhat crunchy cookie bread) and vinsanto (sweet wine liquor). You dip the tozzetti in the vinsanto and then eat it--a snack and nightcap all in one! It was a wonderful meal and we all left full and ready for bed.


The first week with the students and Lynn and Raymond was very busy. Lynn and Raymond came over to our casa to have lunch on Tuesday, after the morning introductions and orientation. We had cheese, prosciutto, olives, and tuscan bean dip with bread from La Nostra Terra. This panneteria is wonderful; I can get whole wheat, seven grain, and barley bread. They also sell good tozzetti and delicious cereal cookies (called “i rossi del deserto”). Unfortunately, Umbria does not have a tradition of making good, hearty bread; most of the bread we tried was white and flaky and made with little to no salt. Luckily, Kat and I found Nostra Terra after our language instructor recommended it, and we are very thankful.

I am too tired to remember the rest of the days of the week in detail, but I would like to highlight some interesting moments:

• Ray prepared spaghetti alla carbonara for us one evening and we are still trying to walk off the calories. I had never eaten it before and I fear I am now addicted.
• We grabbed lunch one day in a restaurant, somewhat like a buffet. (They have the food prepared behind glass, you order it and take it with you--cafeteria style). I got a bowl of soup, a piece of quiche and a bottle of water and my meal cost 14 euros (that’s $22!!!). Never going there again. I was quite upset—what a rip off.
• We started our Italian history class with Marco. He’s a very animated man who certainly makes the geography, culture, history, politics, and current problems of Italy so fascinating!
• Marco, Katrina, Lynn, Ray and I enjoyed lunch at Zeppelin, a unique restaurant here in Orvieto. I braved the swordfish carpaccio (raw) with pecorino mousse and marinated onions. Heavenly—and I don’t like raw fish! The white wine was dry and sweet and very good. For the prima piatti (which ended up being the only course because we were all so stuffed afterwards) Lynn, Kat and I tried the homemade pasta with a black truffle sauce. I was so excited to try these famous truffles that grow in Umbria and cost a lot of money. They are hard to describe; I have asked people here “what do they taste like?” I always hear, “they taste like truffles. I can’t explain them.” Well, yes, they taste like truffles. But in an attempt to explain them, I would describe them this way: damp, dark, gritty, musty, with a slight hint of black olives. I was not repulsed, but I definitely am not a huge fan. I’m glad I have tried them. (I also tried a bit of Ray’s pasta with wild boar sauce and that was GOOD!).
• We enjoyed a pollo ruspante arrosto (roasted free-range chicken) for dinner one night at nostra casa. Different than what they offer at Dillon’s, but certainly with a lot more character. We found at the end that the chicken was stuffed with potatoes, black olives, and the gizzard.
• We all headed to Rome for the first field trip on Friday the 25th. The weather was great and no students were permanently lost. We enjoyed Piazza Navona, the Pantheon, Fontana di Trevi and the Piazza di Spagna. After turning the students loose, Ray, Katrina and I grabbed a bite to eat and walked around. We saw a Richard Wright building (modern architecture, very white and clean) which houses an ancient tomb. We had some achingly sweet gelato and got annoyed for the ump-teenth time that day at the hawkers selling noisy magnets, Rome postcard collections, bubble blowing machines and “bling” (yes, that’s what they call it here). A word on the magnets: when tossed together in one’s hand, these magnets make the most agitating clicking sound, which the hawkers walk around doing. I have determined that these noise makers are good for something: to ward off would be pinchers, grabbers and lewd-commenters of the Italian male sort.

Fontana di Nettuno (Piazza Navona, Rome)



Pantheon (Rome)



Fontana di Trevi (Rome)

I had been itching to head back to the great Ethiopian restaurant I ate at when I was first in Rome, so Lynn, Kat and I headed off there for an early dinner (around 5). We had such a good time (and the service was a bit slow), that we stayed until Kat and I had to catch our 9 pm train back to Orvieto. After finding tahini, stuffed grape leaves and falafel mix in the Terni train station grocery store, we bid farewell to Lynn and caught our train (which left 20 minutes late—essentially, on time by Italian standards).

We arrived in Orvieto at almost 11 pm at night, a time at which there are not many public transportation options. (You see, Orvieto is essentially split into two parts: down below, where the train station is, is Orvieto Scalo. Sitting on top of the tufa rock is Centro Historico, the beautiful historic center where we live. A funicular runs between the two, as well as some small buses. However, the funicular stops running at 8:30 pm.; limited bus service operates until midnight. Should you stay out too late and miss these transports, you are left to walk the winding, unlit 5 km trail between top and bottom). A friendly (and tipsy?) older man helped us determine which bus to take to the top. He offered to take us himself, but we kindly thanked him and took the remaining bus #1 instead. We slept very well indeed.

Kat takes the photos, I do the talking. See more photos at: http://picasaweb.google.com/summerbclewis